The month of April in 2022 could be best remembered for an important acquisition in the tech world. The news that Elon Musk is acquiring Twitter has dominated the news space. Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, said that India would not rush to finalize the country’s crypto policy. India will take an informed decision after due deliberations across multilateral fora. Apple posted a March quarter revenue record of $97.3 billion, up 9 percent year over year. The online giants are now exploring the conventional ways. After Amazon, Meta to have its first physical retail space. These and more news in the Friday Wrap-Up this week.
Elon Musk to acquire Twitter
This could be the most sought-after news for the social media industry of the year. After days of speculation and news from all kinds of sources, Twitter has finally announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.
The note further says that under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing of the proposed transaction. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.
Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, said, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s CEO, said, “Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”
‘India will not rush to finalize the country’s crypto policy’
Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, in a fireside chat organized by Stanford Medicine, said that India would not rush to finalize the country’s crypto policy. India will take an informed decision after due deliberations across multilateral fora. The students and faculty from across the University attended the chat. She said their intention is in no way to hurt the ecosystem or to even say that we don’t need it but to define for ourselves how we need them and in what ways their growth should be facilitated, and how we are going to handle it.
Ms. Sitharaman further added that Blockchain is full of potential in the payments arena and many others.
Apple posts March quarter revenue record of $97.3 billion
Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2022 second quarter ended March 26, 2022. The Company posted a March quarter revenue record of $97.3 billion, up 9 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.52.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said that the success of new products, as well as their commitments to reduce carbon footprints, are factors that have given the excellent results. “
Continued strong customer demand for our products helped us achieve an all-time high for our installed base of active devices,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “Our strong operating performance generated over $28 billion in operating cash flow and allowed us to return nearly $27 billion to our shareholders during the quarter.”
Meta to have its first physical retail space
The online giants are now exploring the conventional ways. After Amazon announced its first bricks-and-mortar clothing store ‘Amazon Style’ early this year, it is now the turn of Meta to go offline. Meta has announced Meta Store, its first physical retail space, open on May 9 on its campus in Burlingame, California. Meta Store will have hardware products, including Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 2 accessories, and Meta Portal devices.
Krishnan Ramanujam is the new Chairperson of NASSCOM
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) announced the Mr. Krishnan Ramanujam, President, Enterprise Growth Group at Tata Consultancy Services, being appointed as the Chairperson for 2022-23. Krishnan was serving as Vice-Chairperson. He has succeeded Ms. Rekha M. Menon, Chairperson and Senior Managing Director of Accenture in India, who served as Chairperson of NASSCOM for the year 2021-22.
NASSCOM also announced the appointment of Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India as its Vice-Chairperson for 2022-23.
